Despite Strongest Offensive Performance of '08, Flash Fall in Home Opener to Niagara, 20-6
Loretto, Pa. – The Saint Francis women’s lacrosse team discharged their highest goal output with six in their home opener at DeGol Field against the Purple Eagles of Niagara University. In spite of giving up 15 goals in the first stanza, the Red Flash battled back in the next half putting up four tallies of their own and yielding only five.
Freshman workhorse Meg Lamarche (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) netted her first hat trick as a member of the Red Flash; the first individual three-goal effort on the season for SFU. Additionally, Lamarche blasted seven shots, five on cage, and collected two ground balls.
Saint Francis junior midfielder Meghan Crosby (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) tacked on two more markers to keep her atop the season total in goals with eight. Crosby also came away with four draw controls and bullied her way around the defensive side for two caused turnovers. Crosby also pulled in a loose ball.
Junior Sarah Wheeler (Canton, Conn./Canton) registered her first two points of the season in Monday’s affair. Wheeler booked around the cage and fired a shot topside past NU’s goaltender Whitney Gill. Wheeler’s second point came on Lamarche’s second half goal at the 23:03 mark in the second half. In addition to Wheeler’s breakout performance, the midfielder gathered three draw controls and one ground ball.
Freshman netminder Danielle Pokusa (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson) stood tall in cage once again, facing an onslaught of 38 Niagara shots. Pokusa turned aside seven shots in the first half and six in the second for a culmination of 13 total.
Niagara’s Vanessa Schultz and Erralyn Thomas were Monday’s leading goal scorers, each tabulating five. Eight different Purple Eagles chalked up a goal in the St. Patrick’s Day affair.
Emma-Lee Harrison opened the scoring at 23:11 of the first half, converting on the only free-position goal of the match. Niagara went 1-for-4 compared to SFU’s 0-for-1 free-position endeavors. The Purple Eagles tossed four more past Pokusa before Crosby ended the Flash’s draught at 15:55. Wheeler’s tally came seconds after another NU goal, but her first collegiate point was nullified by 10 more Niagara answers to close out the first part of play.
The second half presented a different story as the Flash put away four goals in an attempt to comeback, but Niagara kept the pressure strong, contradicting every SFU goal to close the match by a total of 20-6.
Saint Francis (0-5) takes a breather on Tuesday before heading out to New York to take on the Manhattan Jaspers on Wednesday, March 19 at 7:00pm before commencing conference play at Wagner College Stadium against the Seahawks on 3:00pm on Thursday, March 20.